'I'm sorry, I drank it': Mother recalls daughter's last words at Kenneth Law's sentencing hearing

43 minutes ago

Victim impact statement portion of hearing completed

Court has adjourned after two days of sentencing hearings that featured emotionally charged impact statements from family members of Law's victims. 

Submissions for sentencing from the Crown and Law’s defence team will be heard Nov. 27.

1 hour ago

'Ben was one the purest, kindest young people'

Keiren Maher said his son, Ben, was a "lovely, kind boy" who volunteered with a mental health organization in the U.K., where he provided advice and solace for other young people who were feeling lonely and needed support. 

"Ben was one the purest, kindest young people you'd ever meet in your life," Keiren said in a recorded statement. 

Ben even may have saved someone's life, Keiren said. While he was doing an apprenticeship with the National Health Service with the goal of becoming a mental health worker, he encountered a young woman who was experiencing thoughts of suicide and showed signs she was planning to act on them. 

Ben called the police, who were able to track down the young woman and bring her to a mental health facility, Keiren said. 

"That day, Ben saved someone's life, I believe that for sure," he said. 

Since Ben's death by suicide, Keiren said his family has been left feeling "hollow."

1 hour ago

The Crown has finished victim impact statements from the families of people whose deaths resulted from consuming products they received from Law.

The remaining statements the court is hearing are from family members of people who received products from Law and have since died, but their deaths are not alleged by the Crown to be a result of consuming those products. 

The Crown said they believe they will finish with these statements by the end of the day.

2 hours ago

Law 'killed the person I used to be,' victim's mother says

The parents of Ross Gibson say their son was a bright, active 30-year-old man who had his whole life ahead of him. 

But the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on him, and he struggled with having to be locked down at home, his father Kenneth wrote in a statement that was read aloud in court. 

Still, Ross always seemed upbeat and cheerful, his father said. 

"We had no inkling that he would take his own life."

Based on what investigators found at the scene, it was clear Ross tried to change his mind and did not want to die, Kenneth said. 

"Our family must live knowing that Ross died a horrible, lonely and agonizing death."

In her own statement, Ross's mother Linda said she has been unable to work or be social since the loss of her son. 

"Kenneth Law killed the person I used to be," she said. 

"It is impossible to put into words how the grief of losing a child impacts every single aspect of your life." 

Linda said her family misses Ross "desperately" and they are certain he would still be alive if it weren't for Law's website. 

According to the agreed statement of facts, Gibson was found dead on the bathroom floor of his apartment by his landlord after his boss hadn't heard from him for several days.

2 hours ago

11-year-old still sends texts to father's phone after his death

WARNING: This post contains distressing details about suicide.

The estranged wife of Mark Bailey said their 11-year-old daughter still texts her father's phone, even though she knows he can't receive them.

In a recorded interview played in court, Lisa Bailey said it gives her daughter comfort that somehow he might see them and that she's able to keep him updated on her life.

"How do you tell your daughter that her dad is dead? He should still be here," she said.

Lisa Bailey repeatedly broke down in tears while reading her statement. She spoke of her relationship with Mark, saying even though they were estranged, she thought he'd always be part of her life. 

She said she thought she would always be able to call him and that they would raise their daughter together.

She asked how anyone could provide a product that would end someone's life, referring to Law's behaviour as "beyond despicable."

According to the agreed statement of facts, in May 2023, Mark was visited by police for a wellness check, following disclosure of Law's customer list to law enforcement. Mark and his partner told police she had disposed of the delivered sodium nitrite. 

But on Jan. 4 of this year, Mark called emergency services to say he had taken sodium nitrite. He was found dead by paramedics along with a note that said he wished to "take his SN and fade away."

3 hours ago

4 hours ago

'Important to support everyone'

The mother of Ashtyn Prosser-Blake said she felt it's important to be in the courtroom today to show her support for other victim family members.

Kim Prosser delivered her statement in court on Wednesday. But she and a few others who also delivered their statements yesterday returned to court today.

"I feel like it's important to support everyone and have them feel supported in this space," she said just outside the courthouse.

"All of this is part of healing and the journey that we're all experiencing."

She said this has been the first real chance to connect with the other family members.

"It was very like family with family. This was really the first opportunity for people to feel like they had a connection with other people and similar feelings."

4 hours ago

Court is now in recess until 2:15 p.m. ET.

The pace of statements today has been much faster so far, as most are being read out by Crown attorneys. There have also been several video statements read by family members in the U.K., which were often recorded with counsellors or police officers present. 

The written statements have been no less harrowing, each outlining the profound sorrow and lasting damage felt by family members and their support networks, after the sudden deaths of their loved ones.

While many families have described Law and his actions as evil and sinister, they have also called for wider accountability, noting the years passed before he was arrested and fear that someone else could replicate his actions in the future.

4 hours ago

Mother refuses to let pain or anger define her

The mother of Imogen Nunn who died at age 25 said if her daughter was alive, she may have asked Law one question: Why?

Louise Nunn, whose statement was read into court, said she would not let the pain, anger and destruction Law had brought into their lives to define her. 

However, in a recent interview with the BBC, Nunn said she was angry that Law would not face justice in the U.K.

She also said that part of her victim impact statement had been redacted and that Law should "rot in hell."

Imogen had been in a mental health hospital for five years, and had come out approximately a year before her death. She was profoundly deaf and lived with an assistance dog. 

She was reported missing on New Year's Eve 2022, after leaving a party at a friend's house unannounced. Police arrived at her home, where they found her body on the floor of the living room.

5 hours ago

Struggling to find justice

Families of poison seller Kenneth Law's alleged U.K. victims are sharing their anger and frustration that British authorities have chosen not to charge Law for dozens of deaths there because it's unlikely he'd be extradited.

Adele Walton, the sister of Aimee Louise Elif Walton, who died at the age of 21 in 2022, read her statement in a video recording from inside a U.K. police station.

She began by noting that her sister had died in the company of "a male stranger 15 years her senior who had flown from America to be with her when she died."

Walton explained that Aimee had met the man through an online suicide forum after struggling with her mental health following COVID-19 lockdowns. She had spent 11 days in a hotel room with him prior to her death, Walton said.

Walton said her sister was talented, creative, inquisitive and sensitive and had played piano since the age of six. She loved fashion and collecting vinyl records, and was a huge fan of Pharell Williams, having attended several of his shows.

Walton and her family have developed their own mental and physical health struggles as a result of their grief, she said, adding that her mother, a social worker, no longer felt the emotional resilience to be able to do her job.

Walton herself has dedicated much of the last four years to causes related to online safety. 

"We have not had a single act from anyone in position of power to make us feel that justice has been served to those who contributed to my sister's death," she said.